Back in the saddle after a ten-day “vacation” spent moving house after 35 years growing deep roots in one spot. Never fear, I’ve been following all the good things happening in Oil Country, even as I’ve had no chance to write about them.

One item that nearly got lost between the cracks was a visit by Edmonton Oilers #3 prospect Tyler Benson to our (and his) fair city a couple weeks back. I took the opportunity to head down to Edmonton’s New Downtown Arena to watch Benson in action, then to interview him.

In truth it wasn’t much of a hockey game, a scoreless stalemate punctured by Radoslav Bondra’s wicked snipe midway through the third period and punctuated by Benson’s empty-netter that sealed a 2-0 win for his Vancouver Giants over the home-standing Oil Kings.

It was what the visiting coach might call “a good road game”. Goodness knows that was what the doctor ordered for the Giants, playing their fifth game in seven nights on a road trip that took them from Vancouver to Prince George for a double header, then Calgary and Edmonton. For Benson they represented his first five games of the season after missing the Giants’ first five due to a shoulder injury that essentially cost him his first professional training camp. Indeed, Benson had played just two prior games in calendar 2016 as he dealt with a pair of health issues that ruined his 2015-16 campaign.

Benson passed the first test simply by being upright and playing after such a tough sked, let alone winning a footrace at the end of the fifth game. While his goal was something of a freebie he was arguably the best offensive player on the ice in a game that featured precious little of that commodity. The Edmonton native was coming off a one-goal-three-assist outing in Calgary the night before, and followed up with a hat trick in Lethbridge the next game as the Giants ultimately swept all four games from their tour of Alberta. Benson was named the WHL’s Player of the Week for his performance.

In the local game he had a relatively quiet night. Isolating on him reminded me how a winger is limited from driving play in his own zone, as plenty of time elapsed with Benson assiduously watching his point man while the puck was being continuously cycled lower in the defensive zone. Vancouver was in chase mode for much of that, especially in a first period where they were outshot 13-2.

On those occasions that the Giants’ defensive triangle succeeded in getting the puck moving north, Benson was dangerous in transition. In one-on-one situations he showed decent speed and puck control in taking the disc wide on the defenceman, turning the corner low in the zone and looking for the pass from behind the icing line. He took the puck to the net on his own a couple of times, forcing excellent stops from Oil Kings’ netminder Liam Hughes. But his first choice seemed to be to hold the puck to allow the passing lanes to open up, then feed a teammate.

His two previous WHL seasons support the notion that Benson is a playmaker first and a shooter second, as his assists:goals ratio exceeded 2:1 in both seasons. So far in 2016-17 he’s squared that up with 6 goals and 6 assists through 10 games. His 12 points rank him in the top 50 of league scorers, not a meteoric pace but pretty impressive for a guy who has missed a third of his team’s games.

After the game the local product (of South Side Athletic Club)had family to visit, but graciously granted a few minutes for an exclusive interview.

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Cult of Hockey: You’re an Edmonton boy, drafted by the Oilers — that had to be a pretty big moment for you.

Tyler Benson: Very exciting for me and my family. I grew up being an Oilers’ fan so it was a special moment.

CoH: You must be excited to play in this building?

TB: It’s a special building. I came here for pre-season with the Oilers, seeing what it was like, and now being back here playing a game is a big moment.

CoH: Do you feel cheated having missed camp with the shoulder issue?

TB: Definitely I think I have to get back up to speed, get back to building chemistry with my linemates. I think I’m getting there. Every game I think I’m getting better.

CoH: How’s your health now? Shoulder better?

TB: Shoulder’s better and I’m feeling good.

CoH: Anything from last year that’s lingering? I know fans have been pretty concerned about that. That was a brutal year for you, eh.

TB: Yeah it was a tough year, but I’m healthy now and no more injury worries from last year.

CoH: You had a fantastic bantam career here in Edmonton and set a few records in the process. At one point, people were talking about Exceptional Player status for you. Ultimately you didn’t go that route. Was that the right decision?

TB: I think so. Me and my family didn’t even really think about that, we didn’t want to approach that. People talked about it but we never really thought about it. We thought another year of midget, getting more development playing against opponents my size. I wound up going with that and then stepping into the WHL the next year. I think it was a good decision.

CoH: So, how many hours for you on a bus this week?

TB: Lots. We went to Prince George, just about eight [hours], then went down to Calgary from there…

CoH: Snowstorm going into Calgary?

TB: Yeah, it took a long time.

CoH: …and now Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. How brutal is that, five in seven days with that kind of travel?

TB: Yeah it’s a long road trip for sure.

CoH: Can you describe your game in a couple of sentences? What are your strengths and weaknesses. Let’s start with strengths.

TB: I think I’m a hard-working player, I think I have good vision on the ice to find my teammates, and work well offensively in creating chances. I think I have to work on skating and consistency.

CoH: What do the Oilers have you working on? Any specific program that they’ve got you working on this year?

TB: No specific program, they just want me back in junior, improving my game.

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